Sheet-handling mechanism for presses, creasers, and the like



1,566,391 E. FREY filed May 26,1 22 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Dec. 22, 1925.

SHEET HANDLING MECHANISM'FOR PRESSES, CREASERS, AND THE LIKE Dec. 22, 1925. 1,566,391

E. FREY SHEET HANDLING MECHANISM FOR PRESSES, CREASERS, AND THE LIKE Filed May 26, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 lllllll lltllllllllllllllllliHllll u||||||nnmnmmnluummfi: @N X 'INVENTOR 52 BY M ATTORNEYS Dec. 22 1925. 1,566,391

E. FREY SHEET HANDLING MECHANISM FOR PRESSES, CREASERS, AND THE LIKE Filed lay 26 192g eats-Sheet :5

ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 22, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELLSWORTH FREY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE .AS- SIGNMENTS, TO S. H. ROSENBERG, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SHEET-HANDLING MECHANISM FOR PRESSES, CREASERS, AND THE LIKE.

Application filed May 26, 1922, Serial No. 563,830.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELLSWORTH Fnmga citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Handling Mechanism for Presses, Creasers, and the'like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in sheet handling mechanism, which is particularly adapted for use in connection with presses, cutters, and creasers and like machines making use-of a swinging platen, to

' feed sheets to and remove them fromthe machine.

The invention has for one object to provide a novel form of mechanism for separating the uppermost sheet of a stack from the remainder thereof and positioning it so as to insure positive engagement with a sheet feeding device. Y 1

The invention also has for an object to provide an improved means for feeding the sheet, thus separated, to the swinging platen of a press or the like, characterized in that it has a positive non-slipping engagement with the sheet.

The invention has for another object to provide guiding means to close the gap between the platen and the stackof sheets to be fed, which means are movable on movement of the platen and'assist in directing the sheet, fed by the sheet feeding means properly onto the platen,

The invention has for a further object to provide means for moving the sheet,'t-hus deposited on the platen, int-0 accurate position for registry with the printing, cutting or analogous devices carried by the bed of the press, against which the platen forces the sheet.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means, in the nature of swinging nippers, to remove the sheets from the press, after they have been operated on, and particularly to provide improved -means for controlling the opening and closing of the nipper jaws.

Other objects and advantages will appear i e fo lowing description and in the illustrative embodiment of the invention in the accompanying drawings, in which,-

Fig. 1 is a side elevational View'of a cutting and creasing machine, showing the invention as applied thereto; 7 r p Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view, partly in section, showing a detailof the nippers;

'Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-v sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig.1,

Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged fragmentary plan and elevational views, respectively, illustrative of the sheet separating and positioning mechanism and of the sheet feeding means; c a

' Fig; 6 is anenlarged fragmentary crosssectional view taken onthe line 66 of Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 77 of Fig. 6; I

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan View of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 6; and I Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view.- illustrative of the sheet removing mechanism."

7 Referring to'these drawings: I have .indicated, in more or less conventional form, a cutting and creasing machine,'represented o'eneraly by reference letter A. This machine, vsed. generally in the art of manufacturing'paper boxes and the like, is too well known to require detailed description. It includes a bed I) with which a swinging member or platen o cooperates, such member being movable from the position shown by full lines to that shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1 by the following mechanism. Links (Z, one on each side of the machine and pivotally connected at one end to the member c, are similarly connected at their other ends to crank pins 6, carried by gears f,

which are fixed to a shaft g and driven by pinions 71. from the main drive shaft 2' of the machine. V V

The invention will be disclosed in connection with the particular machine just described, as an illustrative example of one of its many uses. The invention is equally capable of use on presses and other machines. having two members which are rel atively movable in the same general manner as those shown at 7) and in Fig. 1.

The mechanism for feeding sheets to the machine A is mounted in a frame K which, as shown, is of skeleton construction, affording a guide for a vertically movable platform 10, upon which the sheets 8 are carried in vertically stacked relation. The frame K is portable and may be moved away from machine A, when desired, being normally held thereto by bars 11 which are suitably and removably secured to the base of machine A, as by screws 12.

The platform is preferably moved stepbystep upwardly at each operation of machine A in order to keep the top of the stack at substantially a constant level for cooperation with the sheet-feeding mechanism. To this end, two elevator drums 13 are provided, one adjacent each end of platform 10, both drums being fixed to a shaft l-l. rotatably mounted in brackets 15 and 16, carried by frame K. An eye 17 is fixed to each drum and a cable 18 is looped through this eye,'its two extensions passing upwardly over a sheave or sheaves 19, and thence downwardly for connection in laterally spaced relation to platform 10. Fixed to shaft 14- is a gear 20, and in mesh there with, is a pinion 21 mounted on a stud 22 carried bybracket 16. 'Fixed to pinion 21 is a gear 28, driven by a pinion 24:, to which is fixed a ratchet wheel 25, the latter and pinion 24- being rotatable on a stud 26 carried by bracket 16. A holding pawl 27, mounted on frame K, is associated with ratchet26 as is also an actuating pawl 28, carried by an arm 29, pivotally mounted on stud 26. Arm 29 is connected by a link 30 to a lever 31, which is fixed at its lower end t a cross shaft 32 mounted in frame K. Lever 31, as shown in Fig. 4:, is disposed near one end of frame K and a similar lever (not shown) is fixed adjacent the other end of shaft 32. Each lever 31 is connected by a link 33 to a lever 34 pivoted intermediate its ends at 35 to frame K and pivotally connected at its lower ends by a conveniently removable stud 36 to one end of a link 37 which is pivotally connected at its other end to the driving link (Z, already described. T hus, on each swinging movement of platen 0, lever '34 is oscillated and, through the connections described, effects an increment of elevating movement to the stack of sheets 8 supported by platform 10, the arrangement being such that the top of the stack is kept at a constant level and substantially flush with the upper face of an angle iron m which extends transversely across the back of frame K near its upper end (see Fig. 5).

The sheet feeding mechanism, through the agency of --which the upper'mOS? sheet s is removed from the stack and transferred to platen a, will now be described. This mechanism consists of two distinct parts, both of which are operated from the lever 34. One of such parts is a sheet separating and positioning mechanism which functions during the closing movement of platen 0 to move the upper sheet 3 of the stack into position for engagement by the other part of the mechanism and the latter part functions during the opening movement to transfor this sheet to the platen.

The sheet separating and positioning mechanism operates to move the top sheet 8 rearwardly (to the right as viewed in Figs. 1 and 5) and over the upper face of angle iron m, which has a plurality of lip-- wardly inclined portions 41 (Fig. 5), whereby the rear edge of the sheet .9 is'bent upwardly and separated from the stack so as to be conveniently en aged by the sheet transferring mechanism. The positioning mechanism is operated from a transversely disposed shaft 40, suitably supported from frame K and overlying the stack of sheets 8. Fixed on one end of this shaft is a depending lever 41 which is connected by a link 12 to the operating lever 34, already described. Fixed to shaft 10, intermediate its ends, is a depending lever 43 and pivotally connected to the lower end of this lever is a link 4A which extends forwardly and has pivotally attached to and depending from its forward end a block 45 carrying a plurality of pins or needles 46. Link is provided with a longitudinal slot 417 in which a stud 18, carried on the lower end of a link 419, is slidable. The upper end of link 49 is pivotally connected to the outer end of a lever 50 which is fixed at its other end to a shaft 51 mounted similarly to, and above, shaft 40 The group, comprising parts to 50 inclusive, is duplicated on the other side of the machine, but has not been illustrated.

The shaft 51 is the controlling shaft for the sheet positioning mechanism and functions to elevate, hold elevated, and releasefor downward movement, the devices 15. The levers and links 41-9 act as suspension means for these devices and yet permit lateral movement thereof by the levers 43. To hold the levers 50 in. the elevated position illustrated, a dog 52 is fixed to one end of shaft 51 and is provided with a shoulder 53 with which a latch 541, pivoted to frame K at 55, engages. A torsion spring 56 (Fig. 4), which is coiled around shaft 51 and has one end fixed to dog 52, and the other end to the bearing for shaft 51, tends to turn the latter in a counterclockwise direction. The latch 54, as shown, is held against the periphery of dog 52 by the action of gravity but other means may be provided for this purpose, if desired. For. releasing levers 50 tit) and permitting them to be forced down- \vardly by spring 56 to'carry pins 46 into engagement with the top sheet a, an abutment, such as the adjustable screw 57, is provided on latch 54 and is located in the path of an abutment 58, in the nature of an angle iron which is suitably fixed to lever 41. For restoring levers into the illustrated position, a pin 59 is fixed to lever4l, near its upper end and extends laterally therefrom into the path of a second shoulder on dog 52.

On an opening movement of platen 0 lever 41 swings to the left, as viewed in Fig. 5, whereby levers 43 are similarly moved and carry pins 46 to the left. Near the end of this movement of the platen, the abutments and engage and move latch 54 out of engagement with shoulder 53. Thus, levers are released and allowed to move downwardly under the force of spring 56, whereby pins 46 are engaged with the upper sheet a at a point somewhat to the left of their illustrated positions. The force of the down ward movementof the pins and the sharpness thereof is gaged so that they do not penetrate into the second sheet. As the platen c commences its closing movement levers 41 and 43 are moved to the right and the latter cause blocks 45 to be similarly moved, whereby the uppermost sheet a is dragged to the right and its rear edge caused to ride up the inclines n, ready for engagement with the sheet transferring mechanism. Near the end of such movement of lever 41, the pin 59 engages shoulder 60 and causes shaft 51 to be turned clockwise into the illustrated position, sufficiently to permit latch 54 to be again engaged with shoulder 53, thus withdrawin pins 46 from sheet a.

The sheet tr: ferring mechanism includes reciprocahie hooks 61 which ride upon the upper sheet a, traverse the stack and move rearwardly thereof into a position, such as that shown in Fig. 5, well beyond the rear edge of the sheet a, which has been pontimwd as described. These hooks are pivoted one on each side of a fork 62 and within the fork a roll 63 is rotatably mount- Fork 62 is fixed to one end of a curved arm 64, which is mounted for free turning movement on a rod 65,the latter extending between, and mounted at its ends in, the pair of levers 34, heretofore described. Collars 66 are arranged one on each side of arm 64 to position it axially on rod 65. The group of mechanism described is duplicated on the other side of machine. The lever 34 has a sufficient range of movement to carry hooks 6'1, from the illustrated position,wherein they are supported on a plate-like exten sion 67 of angle iron m, over the stack into a position closely adjacent the oppositeedge of the stack, whereby the positioned sheet 8 is engaged at its rear edge by hooks 6'1 and moved substantially entirely across the stack and into a position such that it could fall upon the platen c, which at that time is in fully open position.

In many cases, a f ee fall of the sheet a Eacn belt is fastened at one end to platen (1, near the top thereof. as indicated at 69, and extends to and partially around a sheave 70, which is supported from frame K and so located that its uppermost portion lies substantially tangential with the top sheet 8 of the stack. From sheave 70, belt 68 c3:- tends to and partially around a sheave 71 on platen c and thence to and around a drum 72 (Fig. 3), to which the other end of the belt is fixed. All the drums 72 are fixed to a sleeve member 73 which is mounted for free rotation on the described shaft 14. Fixed at one end to, and wound around, member '23 is a belt 74 which extends upwardly over a sheave, or sheaves 75, and thence down rdly,its lower end being attached to a v 76. The latter holds belt 68 taut at all times, taking up all slack therein as the platen 0 opens and permitting the belt to pay out as the platen closes. The upper stretch of belt 68, between sheaves and 71, is the portion utilized in the sheet transferring operation. This portion, which in the illustrated position is inclined upwardly away from the stack, gradually moves toward a horizontal position but does not reach such position until the platen is fully three quarters of the way to fully open position. Consequently, the sheet a, which is being moved in toward the press while the platen is moved out, has its lead ing end deposited on belts 68 and moved thercalong,-thc belts moving in the same direction. as the sheetat this time. list about the time that platen c is midway in its open ing movement, the sheet a has been fed half way off the stack and the belts are so positioncd as to cause the leading end of the SllQfie to travel freely or the upper inner edge of the platen. On continued movement, the leading end of the sheet moves beyond this edge and drops gradually onto the front face of the platen and continues to advance downwardly therealong; due to the feeding move ment imparted by hooks 61. After the sheet has been fed substantially three quarters of the way, during which time it has been guided gradually onto the platen, the said portion of belt 68 rapidly moves from the horizontal into asubstantially vertical po sition and the rear edge of the sheet 8 drops onto the platen. The transfer of sheet 5 to the platen is thus effected gradually and in a manner such that misplacement of the sheet, which might occur if a free fall for any substantial distance were permitted, is avoided.

The sheet 8, thus deposited on platen 0, brings up against stops a (Fig. 6) which are suitably fixed on the platen and position its lower edge accurately for register with the cutting, printing or analogous devices car ried on the bed Z). To secure proper register, however, it is necessary to move the sheet against side sto )S o, also fixed on platen c, and for accomplishing a sidewise move ment of sheet .9, the following mechanism is employed. A rod 7'? is slidably mounted in lugs 78 on the rear face of platen 0 and a spring 79, acting between one of these lugs and a collar 80 fixed on rod 77, tends to force the latter to the left, as viewed in Fig. 6, to the extent permitted by a collar 81, which is fixed to one end of rod 77 and is engageable with the last named lug "Z8 limit such movement of the rod. Fixed to the opposite end of rod 77 is a lever 82, having a right angularly bent end to which is secured a stud 83. Pivotally connected at one end to stud 83 is a depending lever 8a which is fulcrumed intermediate its ends in a bracket 85 seciiired to platen 0 and which has a cam-like lower end disposed in the path of the described link (Z. As platen nears bed Z) link (Z, which is then moving upwardly, engages lever 8st and moves its lower end to the left, as viewed in Fig. 6, thereby moving rod 77 to the right, compressing spring 79, and. bringing the parts into the illustrated positions. The sheet engaging device consists of a thin plate 86, bent in right angular form, as shown in Fig. 6. The plate 86 has a slot 87 therein through which the threaded shank of stud 83 passes and the plate is clamped to lever 82 by means of a nut 88 threaded on the stud. The plate is thus adj ustablv secured to the member 82 and is moved outwardly (to the left) as the platen opens and inwardly just before the platen closes. This plate 86 is thin enough to move in the small space 7 (Fig. 1) which exists between the edge of the platen 0 and bed Z), when the former is in completely c osed position. T L-icing necessarily thin for this purpose. there is a posr'bility that the plate n'ii ht tail to engage the edge of sheet and move it as desired and to avoid this contingency, 1 provide on the inner portion of the plate a flat spring 89 which is bent in the form shown in Fig. 'i and. can readily flatten down when platen 0 closes.

For the purpose of removir from the machine after they have been o erated on by the final closing movement of platen c, 1' provide swingn 1 ni aer mech 'anism which will now be described with pan ticular reference to Fig. 1. An arm 90 is fixed at one end to a crossshaft 91 rotatably mounted at its ends in, and extending between, a pair of side frames 13, which ar secured to, and located on opposite sides of, frame A. Fixed to, and depending at right angles from, the other end of arm 90 is a nipper jaw 91. A cooperating jaw 92 is pivoted on the last-named end of arm 90 at 93 and has an arn 9 1, which is connected by a short. link 95 to a bar 96. The latter is slidably supported in guides 97 fixed in lon gitudinally spaced relation on arm 95 and is arranged to separate the nipper jaws when moved outwardly (to the right as viewed in Fig. 1) and to close them when moved inwardly. Bar 96, as shown in Fig. 2, is provided with two longitudinally spaced recesses 98 in either one of which a spring pressed detent 99 mounted in arm 95 may engage, whereby bar 96 may be releasably held in either of the two positions it may assume. The nipper mechanism just described is duplicated on the opposite side of the machine. For swinging the nipper arms 90, a lever 100 fixed to shaft 91 and has a longitudinal slot 101 in its outer end. A link 102 is pivotally connected at one end to lever 100 by a stud 103, which is adjustable in slot 101, and this stud also serves to adjustably secure to the end of lover 100 a vertically slotted angle iron 104, which is adapted to engage the upper edge of frame F as a stop to limit the downward swinging movei'nent of the nipper arms. The other end of link 102 is connected to one end of a bent lever 105 which is pivotally connected at a point intermediate its end to one end of a lever 106. The other end of lever 105 is adjustably and pivotally connected to a link 10? fixed to the crank pin 0 already described. The lever 106 is pivoted intermediate its ends on a cross-shaft 108. As crank pin a moves from the illustrated position, the nipper arms 90 do not immediately rise due to the movable nature of the fulcrum for lever 105. Rather such fulcrum moves until arrested by the abutment of lever 106 with a stop 109, in the nature of a crossbar extending across frames F. The link then assumes a position such as that shown by dotted lines in 1. This arrangement permits the platen c to be opened sutliciently to entirely release sheet a prior to an upward nioveinenl of the nippcr arms and prevents the tearing of the sheet which might otherwise occur.

The nipper jaws 91 and 92, as will appear, close down upon the sheet .5 just prior to the final increment of closing movement of platen c and, after the platen has opened, as just described, sufliciently to release sheet 8. the arms 90 swing upwardly and carry the sheet out of the press and upwardly a Suficient dis-tame so that its lower edge is positioned above and to the left of a slideway 110 provided on the rear face of frame A. The jaws 91 and 92 are then separatedto allow the sheet to fall upon the slideway 110 and this separation or opening of the jaws is eti'ecter by the following mechanism. All of the nipper unlocking bars 96 are connected together by a transversely disposed rod 111 to which they are suitably fixed. A link 112, pivotally connected at one end to rod 111, s si larly connected at its other 'end, but prefe' y inv vanadjustable manner, as by the ho id slot arrangement illustrated to the upper end of a lever 118, which is fixed its other end to a cross shaft 11% mounted at itsends in, and extending between, frames F. Also fixed to shaft 111 is a member 116, which extends into the path of a pin 117 carried by a collar 118 fixed to shaft 91. When arms 90 swingupwardly as described, pin 117, being moved therewith, will engage and move member 116, thereby turning shaft 114, which through lever 113 and link 112 causes bars 96 to be moved forwardly to separate the nipper jaws.

The shaft 11 1 also has fixed thereto a de pending lever 119, the free end of which is pivctally connected to one end of a link 120, which rests and slides upon the upper.

edge of the cross-bar 109, previously described. The other end of link 120 is bent at right angles and carries an adjustable stop, in the nature of a screw 121, which lies in the path of lever 106 heretofore described. As shaft 114 was turned to open the nipper jaws, as previously described, link 120 and stop 121 were moved to the left of the illustrated position, such movement being permitted on account of the previous movement of lever 106 into the dotted line position. After the nipper jaws have been separated to release sheet 8, arms 90 swing downwardly until they are arrested by stops 10st. The lever 105, however, continues to move until the platen 0 is completely closed and, in so doing, moves lever 106 back into the position shown by full lines in Fig. 1. Lever 106 engages stop 121 and moves it, thereby turning shaft 114 and moving lever 113 back into the illustrated position and closing the aw 92 upon the jaw 91 to grip the sheet 8.

Occasionally, a sheet, after having been lifted by the nipper mechanism and released in the position described, does not fall in the planned manner but buckles up and falls to the right of the slideway. To insure against this contingency, I provide movable guide members consisting of a series of depending rods 123 which are fiXed 1n longitudinally spacedrelation on a cross-shaft 124, rotatably mounted at its ends in standards 125 securedto frames F. An operating lever 126 is fixed to one end of shaft 124 and is connected by a wire 126 to the hub 'p oint'intermediate its ends, and buckles it upwardly, causing rods 123 to swing to the left far enoughto prevent sheet 8, when released, from falling to the right of the upper endof the slideway 110.

The operation of the machine will sufficiently appear from the foregoing description.

The invention has been disclosed herein,

in an embodiment as preferred, for illustrative purposes, but the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.

lVhat I claim is:

1'. The combination with a cutting and creasing press having a substantially vertically disposed bed and a platen movable toward and away from the same, of a magazine for sheets to be fed to said platen and means for successively feeding sheets from said magazine to the platen, said magazine and feeding means being constructed as one distinct unit separate from the press and adapted to be bodily shifted at will to completely separate it therefrom, means for detachably connecting said unit to the press in a predetermined position, said feeding means including a swinging actuating lever, and a link connected to said lever, and adapted for detachable connection with said platen, whereby said lever is swung to and fro to actuate said feeding mechanism by the swinging movement of said platen.

2. Sheet feeding mechanism, comprising, a magazine for a stack of sheets to be fed,

a member continuously reciprocable across the top of the stack and beyond one edge thereof, and having means to engage one edge of a sheet, a trackway on the magazine at substantially the same level as the top of the stack and extending from a position closely adjacent said edge thereof beyond the latter to guide said member, stationary inclined portions provided adjacent the trackway, and means to feed the top sheet of the stack rearwardly so that one edge is caused to travel up said inclined portions and become positioned for subseouent engagement by the engaging means or said reciprocable member.

3. Sheet feeding mechanism, comprising,

.a member continuously reciprocable in a direction parallel with the top of a stack of sheets to be fed and having a pin adapted to penetrate into the uppermost sheet of said stack, suspension means for said member adapted to permit reciprocable movement of the latter, means operable near the end of one stroke of said member to operate the suspension means and cause it to raise said member above the top sheet of said stack, latching means to hold the suspension means in the last named position, and means operable near the end of the other stroke to release said latching means and permit said suspension means and said member to be lowered and cause said pin to penetrate said sheet.

4:. In combination with a machine having a swinging platen, a magazine adjacent the platen to contain a stack of sheets, feeding means operable by movement of the platen to Withdraw sheets one by one from said stack and move them toward the platen, and means for receiving each sheet thus fed and guiding it to and upon the platen, said last named means comprising a plurality of flexible members connected at one end to the platen and extending to the magazine with means exerting a constant tension on said members to hold them taut and take up the slack therein as the platen swings into position to receive said sheet.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

ELLSWORTH FREY. 

